TCS Among 10 Companies to Get Foreign Labor Certification for H-1B Visas

India’s top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the only Indian company in the top 10 list to get foreign labor certification for the H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2018. According to official data, TCS received over 20,000 such certifications.

In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2018, TCS was ranked 7th in the list of top 10, while London-headquartered Ernst and Young topped the list with 151,164 certifications, according to official data.

According to the fact sheet released earlier this month by the Department of Labor, Mumbai-headquartered TCS received 20,755 certifications, which is 1.7% of the total number.

The H-1B visa is the most common visa for highly-skilled Indian IT professionals to work in the United States and has been at the center of U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. The visa is valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years.

Apart from TCS, Cognizant Technology Solutions and HCL America, both of which have some Indian management, have also secured ranks in the top 10 certifications list with 47,732 and 42,820 certifications respectively.

According to the report, so far 626,907 applications have been received in the four quarters including 85,431 in the first quarter, 317,783 in the second one, 119,030 in the Q3 and 104,663 in Q4.

The report noted that around 23.4% of the applications came from software developers, whereas 14.4% came from computer systems analysts.
California is the most preferred state for H-1B visa seekers with almost 25.3% of people prefer working there, while Texas came next where 9.4% of people want to work.

Earlier this year, a report by the National Foundation for American Policy revealed that applications for Indians result in higher rates of Denials and Requests for Evidence on both H-1B and L-1 visas.

There was a 42 percent increase in the proportion of H-1B petitions denied for India-born professionals from the third to the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2017, which started July 1, 2017, the report stated.